Non-reusable bottle.



Patented Dec. 3|, I901.

P. BODENBEBG-& M. R. RENDELL. NDN-REUSABLE BOTTLE.

(Application filed Dec. 31, 1900.)

(No Model.)

minesses:

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PHILIP RODENBERG AND MOSES R. RENDELL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

NON-REUSABLE BOTTLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 689,912, dated December31, 1901.

Application filed December 31, 1900. Serial No, 41.683. (No model.)

To a, whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, PHILIP RODENBERG and Moses R. RENDELL, citizens ofthe United States, residing at the borough of Manhattan, New York city,in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Non-Reusable Bottles; and we do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappcrtains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to bottles and means for closing or stoppering thesame to prevent them from being refilled or used a second time toreceive a fraudulent imitation of the genuine original contents.

The object of the invention is to produce a bottle which can be easilyand readily emptied of part or all of its contents, but cannot berefilled in the ordinary manner, and if pressure be resorted to to forceliquid into the bottle the neck will be perfectly and permanently closedand sealed and the reuse of the bottle rendered impossible.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a vertical section ofa bottle with a stoppering contrivance constructed and arranged upon theprinciple of our invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional View of the neck ofthe bottle tilted or inverted, showing the position assumed by themovable parts of the stoppering device when the contents of the bottleare being emptied. Fig. 3 is a similar view of the neck of the bottle,showing the position of the movable parts of the stoppering device whenpressure is applied to force liquid into the bottle; and Fig. 4 showsthe position of the movable parts when the bottle is in a horizontalposit-ion. Fig. 5 represents the several parts of the plug detached fromeach other.

Referring to the drawings, A designates a portion of the body of abottle, B being the neck, which is made in the usual manner in the formof a more or less perfect cylinder of any desired length. One of thesuperior ad vantages of our invention resides in its requiring no changein or novel additions to the interior of the neck of the bottle such asusually characterize bottles of this kind and which make it so difficultand frequently impossible to form the neck in a material so refractoryas glass. The only point in which the neck of our bottle differs from anordinary bottle is in its having a shallow annular groove 1 inside theneck a short distance from the mouth. The forming of this groove willpresent no difliculty to the skilled glassbottle maker, as it can bemolded in the neck by means of a simple tool. This groove will be moreparticularly referred to hereinafter in connection with the contrivancefor closing or stoppering the bottle. This contrivance consists of acylindrical glass bushing 2 of nearly the same diameter as the inside ofthe neck, so that it can be inserted therein as easily and closely aspossible without danger of fracturing the neck. This bushing is made intwo parts 3 4:, put together with a thimblejoint and cemented. Atopposite points on the sides of the bushing recesses 5 5 are formed, andin these recesses springs 6 6 are inserted and secured in any suitablemanner at their lower ends, while their free upper ends project and aremore or less curved outward, so that when the bushing is inserted in theneck the springs can be forced back into the recesses far enough to passinside the neck and when they reach the annular groove 1 drop into thesame, and thereby lock the bushing in the neck permanently and securely.The sides of the bushing are provided with openings 7 7, and at a pointjust below the upper ends of these openings a stop-plate 8 is fixed orformed as a part of the bushing. The diameter of this stop-plate isgreater than the interior, but less than the exterior diameters of thebushing, so that openings 8 are left between the edges of the plate andthe neck of the bottle in line with the openings 7 7 for the passage ofthe liquid outward to the mouth of the bottle. In the bottom part 4 0fthe bushing a valve-seat 9 is formed and a central perforation 10 ismade in said part. This part is also provided with downward extensions11 11, that terminate with a ring 12. Between the ring and the sides ofthe neck of the bottle there is an annular space 13 for the passage ofthe liquid to the perforation 10 when the bottle is inverted todischarge its contents. In the periphery of the part 4, which is of thesame diameter as the part 3 of the bushing, is an annular groove, inwhich is inserted a packing-ring 14, of rubber or other suitablematerial, that projects out of the groove, so that when the bushing isinserted in the neck the packingring will be compressed, and thus make atight joint that will prevent liquid from passing between the bushingand the neck in either direction.

A valve 15, made of cork preferably, but other suitable material may besubstituted, is placed in the bottom part of the bushing, resting on thevalve-seat 9 and projecting downward through the perforation 10. Thisvalve is connected by an aluininium wire link with a weight 16, which isthus suspended like a pendulum centrally below the ring 12, the weightbeing thus permitted to swing freely in any direction without liftingthe valve from its seat; but when the bottle is inverted or tilted farenough the weight falls on the ring, and thus lifts the valve or permitsthe outflowing liquid to force the valve off its seat.

In the part 3 of-ihe bushing between the valve-seat and the stop-plate 8is a plunger or piston 17, which is retained in place merely by thesides of the bushing, so that it is free to move by gravity alonebetween the valve and the stop-plate. WVhen it is down on the valve, asseen in Fig. 1, its sides form a close joint with the sides 18 of thelower end of the part 3 of the bushing. The under side of the plunger isconcave to adapt it to fit closely over the top of the valve, and ifpressure be applied to it by attempting to pump liquid into the bottleit spreads the head of the valve and makes it fit more tightly on itsseat. To the periphery of the stop-plate 8 is fastened one end of a fiatspring 19, the lower end of which bears against the side of the plunger,near the top thereof, so that a slight downward movement of the saidplunger from the position shown in Fig. 1 will carry it below the end ofthe spring and permit it to spring inward over the top of the plunger,as seen in Fig. 3, thereby forming a stop that will pre- Vent theplunger from moving off the valve. The entire bushing and the plunger itis intended shall be made of glass, and the bushing is made in twoparts, as stated, in order that the plunger may be put in its positionbetween the valve-seat and the stop-plate and also to facilitate placingthe valve in position. The fiat spring 19 for locking the plunger on thevalve is made, preferably, of mica, but other suitable material may besubstituted. The spring should project downward in a slightly-obliquedirection, as shownthat is, its upper end should beset far enoughoutside a perpendicular line joining the periphery of the stop-plate 8and the side of the plunger with the lower end inside of said line thatwhen the plunger drops down on the valve it will bend the free end ofthe spring outward. By this construction when the plunger passes the endof the spring the latter will spring back to its original position, andthus pass over the top of the plunger.

The operation of the invention is as follows: The bottle is first filledto a point just below the stoppering device, which is then inserted inthe neck of the bottle and pressed down until the springs engage thegroove 1, thus fastening the bushing in the neck of the botlie, so thatit cannot be removed without breaking the bottle. An ordinary cork isthen placed in the mouth of the bottle, which is sealed in the usualmanner. The valve is held on its seat by the pendent weight and alsowhen the bottle is in an upright position by the weight of the plunger,as shown in Fig. 1. The end of the spring 19 bears against the side ofthe plunger. If it is desired to empty a part or all of the contents ofthe bottle, it is inverted 0r tilted, as seen in Fig. 2, whereupon theweight drops on the ring, thus releasing the valve, and the plungermoves up to the stop-plate, the valve is lifted 0E its seat by theliquid or by its own weight, and thereupon the liquid passes through thevalve, thence out through the openings in the sides of the plunger,thence around the edges of the stop-plate and between the stop-plate andthe top of the openings in the bushing, and thence passes into the plugagain and is discharged from the mouth of the bottle. The direction ofthe passage of the liquid is clearly indicated by the arrows. When thebottle is returned to its upright position, the weight drops down, thusreplacing the valve in its seat, and the plunger falls down on top ofthe valve. When thus disposed, it is impossible to refill the bottle inthe ordinary manner. If it is attempted to refill it by forcing orpumping the liquid into the bottle, the pressure will drive the plungerdown against the valve with sufficient force to carry it below a part ofthe end of the spring 19, which will spring over the top of the plungerand thereby lock it in place, while the pressure will have the furthereffect of forcing the valve more tightly on its seat and making itimpossible for anything to pass into the bottle.- Again, if the bottlebejirn-mersed longitudinally in the liquid for the purpose of refillingit the weight will fall sidewise with its head against the side of thering, thus holding the valve securely on its seat, and the liquid willbe prevented from passing the valve. The top of the weight next to thering is hemispherical. Hence when the bottle is in a horizontal positionthe hemispherical top drops against the edge of the ring, and if thevalve is off its seat, as it might beif the bottle were first inverted,it slips downward, drawing the valve back onto its seat until the edgeof the ring is in the angle formed by the top of the weight and the wirelink connecting it with the valve, as shown in Fig. 4. The length of thelink is such that when in the position indicated the valve will befastened securely in its seat and shaking the bottle longitudinally andhorizontally will not displace it.

The purpose of this invention is not only IIO to prevent the bottle frombeing refilled, but also to make it impossible to use it in any way orfor any purpose more than once. This is accomplished by locking thestoppering contrivance in the bottle, so that it cannot be removedwithout breaking the bottle.

While it is stated that the bushing with its stop-plate and the plungerare to be made of glass, we do not wish to be understood as limiting theinvention to that material, as other substances may be substitutedeither for the entire article or for parts of it.

The stop-plate serves the double purpose of preventing direct accessinto the bushing and to hold the plunger in the bushing and limit itsmovement, but separate con trivances may be used for these purposes.

We claim- 1. In anon-reusable bottle the combination with the neck ofthe bottle of a cylindrical bushing made in two parts of uniformexterior diameter, the two parts being fastened together and adapted tofit closely the neck of the bottle and prevent the passage of liquidbetween the sides of the bushing and the neck, and having a packing-ringin the bottom part, longitudinal openings in the sides of the upper partof the bushing, a stop-plate of less diameter than the exterior diameterof the bushing fixed in the bushingat a point just below the upper endsof said openings, a valve-seat in the bottom part of the bushing justbelow the lower cylindrical end of the upper part of the bushing, aweighted valve and a plunger inclosed in the bushing between thestop-plate and the valve-seat, and adapted to enter the lowercylindrical end of the upper part of the bushing and form a closecontact with the sides thereof to prevent access to the valve whenclosed, substantially as specified.

2. In a non-reusable bottle a stoppering device consisting in thecombination of a hollow cylindrical bushing adapted to be inserted inthe neck of a bottle, openings therein for the passage of the liquid outof the same and thence back again to the mouth of the bottle, astop-plate interposed between the passage-ways for the liquid, avalve-seat and weighted valve in the lower end of the bush- 5o ing, afree moving plunger placed in the plug between the valve and thestop-plate and a spring connected with the stop-plate, and extendingdown alongside of the plunger and adapted to spring inward when theplunger is pressed down below its end and thus lock the plunger on topof the valve, substantially as specified.

In testimony that we claim the invention above set forth we do affix oursignatures in presence of two witnesses.

PHILIP RODENBERG. MOSES R. RENDELL. NVitnesses:

ADAM WIENER, OHAs. E. PETERS.

